While writing the last posting, I was reminded of an episode, which resulted in a frightening experience for me.
If you look at the map of West Malaysia, you will notice the main range, running almost in the centre from north to south. Near to the northern end lies, Gunong Tahan, the tallest mountain in Malaysia, at 7,000 feet high. Gunong in Malay means mountain and Tahan means tolerance. It had been my personal challenge, to fly over this mountain, and look at the summit.
Gunong Tahan is very close to Fort Tapong, overlooking the Thai/Malaysian border, which was our main operational area. I have often regarded this area as my 'playground in the sky', as I have spent many hours flying over the terrain identifying the many hills and valleys. When the weather was good, the feeling was fantastic, flying like a bird looking at every nooks and corner over primary jungles not inhabited by man. There were of course, aboriginal settlements, in certain areas.
I remember seeing this big cave at the side of a limestone hill. Every time I flew close to it, I would wonder what was inside. There was also this big waterfall, which you can now see, driving along the north south expressway between Kampar and Ipoh. Some hills here have been demolished to make way for the expressway.
During bad weather, I sometimes had to make an escape route to fly round southward, to avoid the high mountains to get to Ipoh airfield. Knowing the topography of the area was an asset.
One day, I had finished all my tasks of dropping supplies to the ground troops, and I was headed back to Taiping. The weather was superb with blue sky and little clouds. I could see Gunong Tahan in the distance. So I decided to fly over the mountain. Very often the mountain top was covered in clouds, but on that day, it was clear. With fuel to spare, I gunned the engines making a spiral climb to 8,000 feet. Even with the sun shining down, it became chilly at that altitude.
As I approached Gunong Tahan, I noticed that the colour of the mountain had changed from dark green to a rustic brown and to black at the top. I could see the sharp jagged rim of the mountain and it was an ominous sight. I found myself flying nearer to the summit and as I peeped over to look at the inside of the mountain, I saw that it was completely pitch black! With the sun shining down, it was in total darkness! No glimmer of light, no reflections, just complete darkness. It was then that I got very frightened and could not bare to look anymore. A little voice inside me was saying, "Get the hell out of there!". I could not continue and very quickly turned the aircraft away. I felt something very sinister and evil there. My hands and feet turned cold as I steered the aircraft away. I had thought that a hand was going to emerge to grab me into the mountain. Even as I am writing this now, I still have this eerie feeling of how frightened I was on that day.
After I had flown clear of the mountain and steered towards Taiping, my uneasiness left me. Flying on a little later, I turned the aircraft around and saw the mountain sitting there in the distance. I then made a vow, that never again, will I fly anywhere near the top of that mountain!
It was a relief, when I finally landed at Taiping airfield. That night, as I laid in bed trying to sleep, the thoughts of Gunong Tahan played on my mind. In retrospect, it was a very dangerous thing to do, because there could be a very heavy downdraft over the mountain, which could easily suck the aircraft in. At that altitude, my aircraft aspirated engines would not have the power to pull me out of the hole, because of the rarefied air. To crash inside the mountain, the aircraft would vanish without a trace, and search and rescue aircraft would not be able to find the wreck, leave alone even knowing what had happened. Thank the Lord, that I can now write about this, safe and sound at home. Subsequently, after I was posted to No. 4 Dart Herald Squadron, I flew over Mt. Kinabalu, which is higher at nine thousand feet, there was no such eerie feeling.
If you look at the map of West Malaysia, you will notice the main range, running almost in the centre from north to south. Near to the northern end lies, Gunong Tahan, the tallest mountain in Malaysia, at 7,000 feet high. Gunong in Malay means mountain and Tahan means tolerance. It had been my personal challenge, to fly over this mountain, and look at the summit.
Gunong Tahan is very close to Fort Tapong, overlooking the Thai/Malaysian border, which was our main operational area. I have often regarded this area as my 'playground in the sky', as I have spent many hours flying over the terrain identifying the many hills and valleys. When the weather was good, the feeling was fantastic, flying like a bird looking at every nooks and corner over primary jungles not inhabited by man. There were of course, aboriginal settlements, in certain areas.
I remember seeing this big cave at the side of a limestone hill. Every time I flew close to it, I would wonder what was inside. There was also this big waterfall, which you can now see, driving along the north south expressway between Kampar and Ipoh. Some hills here have been demolished to make way for the expressway.
During bad weather, I sometimes had to make an escape route to fly round southward, to avoid the high mountains to get to Ipoh airfield. Knowing the topography of the area was an asset.
One day, I had finished all my tasks of dropping supplies to the ground troops, and I was headed back to Taiping. The weather was superb with blue sky and little clouds. I could see Gunong Tahan in the distance. So I decided to fly over the mountain. Very often the mountain top was covered in clouds, but on that day, it was clear. With fuel to spare, I gunned the engines making a spiral climb to 8,000 feet. Even with the sun shining down, it became chilly at that altitude.
As I approached Gunong Tahan, I noticed that the colour of the mountain had changed from dark green to a rustic brown and to black at the top. I could see the sharp jagged rim of the mountain and it was an ominous sight. I found myself flying nearer to the summit and as I peeped over to look at the inside of the mountain, I saw that it was completely pitch black! With the sun shining down, it was in total darkness! No glimmer of light, no reflections, just complete darkness. It was then that I got very frightened and could not bare to look anymore. A little voice inside me was saying, "Get the hell out of there!". I could not continue and very quickly turned the aircraft away. I felt something very sinister and evil there. My hands and feet turned cold as I steered the aircraft away. I had thought that a hand was going to emerge to grab me into the mountain. Even as I am writing this now, I still have this eerie feeling of how frightened I was on that day.
After I had flown clear of the mountain and steered towards Taiping, my uneasiness left me. Flying on a little later, I turned the aircraft around and saw the mountain sitting there in the distance. I then made a vow, that never again, will I fly anywhere near the top of that mountain!
It was a relief, when I finally landed at Taiping airfield. That night, as I laid in bed trying to sleep, the thoughts of Gunong Tahan played on my mind. In retrospect, it was a very dangerous thing to do, because there could be a very heavy downdraft over the mountain, which could easily suck the aircraft in. At that altitude, my aircraft aspirated engines would not have the power to pull me out of the hole, because of the rarefied air. To crash inside the mountain, the aircraft would vanish without a trace, and search and rescue aircraft would not be able to find the wreck, leave alone even knowing what had happened. Thank the Lord, that I can now write about this, safe and sound at home. Subsequently, after I was posted to No. 4 Dart Herald Squadron, I flew over Mt. Kinabalu, which is higher at nine thousand feet, there was no such eerie feeling.
Double click the satellite picture on top to see Gunong Tahan. You will notice the cloud cover over the mountain. The terrain around the area will indicate my 'playground in the sky'. Note also the location of Ipoh and Cameron Highlands as indicated by the marked circle. Most of the jungle are primary jungle still uninhabited by man.
Till then....
Till then....
3 comments:
I think you have 9 life so hope you can fly there again and live to tell us what's inside...seriously what could be inside there?
Sorry the two messages are from Lily
Thanks Lily,
I do not know what is inside the mountain. I can only guess that centuries ago, it could have been a volcano. Now that it is extinct, it could be a very deep hole. So deep that there is no light inside.
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